Collector – addition point and consumption

Abstract

One of the mining world's greatest challenges is to effectively use consumables (i.e. reagents and grinding media) to maximise metallurgical response, while minimising operating costs. This paper provides an example of a logical approach to achieve this. The current study, at Perilya's Broken Hill concentrator in the lead primary grinding/roughing circuits, examines the dependence of collector adsorption on E_h. The data demonstrate that the addition of a xanthate collector during grinding can improve galena flotation. Further, operating the ball mill under a superior grinding chemistry regime can lead to significant reductions in collector consumption while maintaining or improving the metallurgical results.

Keywords

GALENA FLOTATION GRINDING CHEMISTRY COLLECTOR ADDITION UV MONITORING

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